Home Minister Amit Shah sets end-of-2029 deadline to clear India of drugs

The Core Deadline

Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced a deadline of December 31, 2029, to completely uproot the drug trade from India. Speaking in Delhi at the third National Conference of Anti-Narcotics Task Force heads, he called the fight against drugs the most difficult battle facing the government.

Strategy And Targets

Shah stated that central and state authorities must shift from meetings to missions and from simple seizures to fully dismantling drug networks. The two-day conference is organised by the Narcotics Control Bureau and brings together anti-narcotics chiefs from 36 states and Union territories. He highlighted a new Vision Document for 2026 to 2029, prepared after consulting over 35 departments, which outlines more than 100 targets across areas like enforcement, intelligence, and demand reduction. As part of these efforts, officials aim to register one lakh Nashamukt Mitras, with 46,780 already registered and active.

The Wider Goal

Connecting the campaign to the broader target of building a developed India by 2047, Shah warned that the nation's youth cannot be allowed to fall to addiction. He urged states to form creative teams to tackle modern challenges like synthetic drugs, the dark net, crypto transactions, and international cartels, while pushing for strict financial investigations to cut off the money supply of drug dealers.